The process of surface operational facility
inspection is rife with
misunderstanding in the field, leading to delays in inspection processing or
invalid inspections. This page provides some topics to assist members with facility issues.

If you are looking for assistance with completing Radio Facility Inspection
and Offer for Use forms, go to this page.

Facility inspection processing by the D1NR
DIRAUX office is more
rigorous than the past. Many specific errors and types of errors are being
detected now and corrected. AOMS data is being updated by the DIRAUX staff to
insure correct facility owners and authorized coxswains.
All of this means that extra attention must be paid by owners/vessel examiners
when filling out inspection forms. The reason for the attention to detail is to
provide all possible due diligence to protect Auxiliary facility owners and
Auxiliary coxswains in the event of a serious loss or incident.

The Vessel Examiner Manual
COMDTINST M16796.2E contains the facility requirements. This is the
"old" VE manual, but for facilities is still a valid USCG Commandant
Instruction Manual. Many Vessel Examiners think that only the newer Vessel Safety
Check manual is necessary for their reference.

When the ANSC 7003 form is updated on the national web site, ONLY the current
version of the form may be used (this is why they print at the bottom of the
form: PREVIOUS EDITION IS OBSOLETE).

Read and follow the form instructions
carefully (you'll find additional section-by section help on this web page in the
paragraphs that follow). You may wish to use a copy of your previous year's form to
assist in filling out information, but don't propagate serious errors that may
have been ignored in past years.

Why use the fill-in electronic form if you can? Many of the fields on the
form require specialized entry from a list of allowable values. The fill-in
electronic form will automatically only allow you to select one of the valid
entries. If you fill in a paper form by hand, you must only enter the allowable
values, and you must check your selection by hand from the instructions.

When using the fill-in electronic form, save the document on your computer
and print out the final version (with all of your input). Regardless of how the
form was prepared, all owners must sign and initial in several places. The
Vessel Examiner must sign in the appropriate location.

Sections I through III, and Section VIII are completed by the facility owner.
Section IV, Section VI, and Section VII are the responsibility of the Vessel
Examiner. The DIRAUX is responsible for Section V.

Because the Vessel Facility Inspection and Offer For Use is a legal
document, you need to physically send an original (with "live" signatures and
initials) to the D1NR
DIRAUX office. See the Submission paragraph on
this page.

For a facility owned by just one
Auxiliarist, this section is simple. However, if there are multiple owners of
the facility careful attention must be paid to the facility offer-of-use. If
there are two owners and both owners are Auxiliarists, both names go on the
inspection form. If your spouse is a co-owner and is not an Auxiliarist (or
there is one or more non-Auxiliarist co-owners), you
will need a special release (see Multiple Owner
Assent section
on this page). List only actual, legal co-owners. Check the appropriate box
for "type of ownership".

Registration/documentation: This is a critical item, as AUXDATA uses
this as a unique "record key", which in turns makes correcting errors very, very
difficult and time consuming (once entered, changing requires deleting
entire AUXDATA record and starting over). If your vessel is state registered, make sure your state registration is legible
and correct on the form (letters, digits all readable and complete). If your
vessel is federally documented, make sure the
documentation number contains only digits, no letters like "D" or "ON".

Lat/Lon: This is the primary location of the
facility. This is needed for ALL boats (both trailered and non-trailered).
Eventually, this drives geographical information systems used by the Coast
Guard to identify available assets. Make sure you have correct lat/lon, not
entered in the wrong boxes or wrong order or representing someplace else far
away in the northern hemisphere. Enter as degrees minutes.decimal (example:
41 34.5). Note the single decimal; don't enter higher precision or use
seconds. The information you provide is plotted using easily available
online tools as a means of checking for errors; the location plotted should
be consistent with your other descriptions of vessel location or your
inspection processing will be delayed.

Engine description and horsepower: These entries feed
POMS, and
eventually drive how maintenance money is paid out. Because this is
connected to federal government payouts, incorrect entries could eventually
be construed as attempts to defraud the government. A "Chevy 350", for example,
is not 350 horsepower but 350 cubic inches of engine displacement. Get the
horsepower right.

Length and operational facility callsign: lengths are rounded up or down to the
nearest foot to determine the length used in the callsign. Vessels that are
exactly X' 6" are rounded to X+1 feet for the callsign. For some facilities, this
may mean that your callsign starting in 2006 is different as past incorrect practice
is corrected. Note that the callsign length is also the length used to
determine minimum crew requirements.

Cell phone number: this is the place to list any
mobile telephone number that is normally installed or carried on the
facility, providing the means to contact the facility by telephone when
underway.

DSC Number: This is incorrectly termed on the
inspection form, this is actually the Maritime Mobile Service Identity or
MMSI. (see the USCG NavCen site
here for
more information.) If you have a Digital Selective Calling-equipped VHF
radio aboard, you had to register either with the
FCC or with a free
registration service such as
BOAT/US for a 9-digit
code to be assigned to your boat. Unless the facility is owned by an
Auxiliary unit, the MMSI is privately acquired under the owner(s) names.
Note that the code is per boat, not per radio. This number then had to be
programmed into your radio(s). This is the place on the facility inspection
form to provide your MMSI.

Fuel consumption: this information helps
identify the most economical assets to use for specific missions, and to
provide a sanity check on patrol reimbursement payments. Because these
numbers may be compared to other similar vessels, make this information as
accurate as you know.

Facility Availability: yes, the form is flawed
in that it does not include a weekday option for those Auxiliarists that
work on the weekends but are available during the week.

Special Equipment: by all means list additional equipment, but ONLY
equipment that is required for your patrol missions. Expensive cameras, for
example, are NOT required for USCG missions. List model number and serial number, and make
sure you actually have a purchase receipt available in case of loss. Items
that we cannot use by policy (e.g. blue lights, fire fighting pumps) are
examples of what not to list. You can own what you wish as a private
citizen, but the USCG will not cover equipment specifically rejected by
policy or equipment not specifically required by USCG Order Issuing
Authorities. We suggest not keeping expensive non-patrol equipment aboard
during patrols, if at all practical.

Value of vessel: boats are generally not like fine wine, they do not
appreciate year-to-year. Look at your last year's submission; don't make up numbers that
are different every year unless that is backed by used vessel valuations.
While valuation is your choice as the owner, year-to-year differences, increases, or
other oddities will delay your inspection processing while you are queried
about the valuation.

Check the "Offer for Use" box, and the "Section I thru
III certification" box. Do not check the "not offered for use" box.

All owners must sign here, with the date of signature.

The facility owners must initial that they understand the trailering policy, not just owners with trailered boats.
If there are multiple owners, ALL must place their initials here. Many owners with obviously untrailerable
boats omit this....and their inspection has to be rejected.

The owner or Flotilla Commander must make sure that the vessel examiner
performing the facility inspection is currently qualified as a vessel
examiner. Check with an IS officer about a member's VE qualification (or use
the Auxiliary online directory: look up a member,
click on their name, and their current valid
qualifications/certifications will be on the "Qualifications" line).

(Note that the Vessel Examiner must be a USCG Auxiliary
Vessel Examiner, not a cooperating partner association examiner such as a Power
Squadron Vessel Examiner.)

Check the "operational" box. Check the appropriate
"type of waters" box; note that in D1NR, facilities will not be accepted
as operational if only
equipped for inland protected waters. Fill in the correct inspection date and
Vessel Examiner's member number and unit. The Vessel Examiner must print their
name and sign this section. The signature means that this Vessel Examiner is
certifying the inspection done in Sections VI and VII.

Carefully fill this out. Generally, any "N/A" will
cause additional inquiry, rejection, or delay in processing. Example: If a vessel is not legally required to have a certificate
of compliance because of its length, then the check list item is an "OK" because the vessel meets
the requirement....which in turn does not require the certificate for this
example.

"OK" means the inspection requirement is met, either as
being present or the item not being required at all for that size vessel.

Make sure you have a valid deviation table for your
vessel's compass, a common omission.

Be very careful that the inspector
applies the appropriate state legal requirements (as they are supposed to do for
inspections and Vessel Safety Checks). For example, Massachusetts requires a
bell on every vessel over 26 feet (the federal requirement doesn't start until
12 meters or 39.4 feet). As a facility owner, ask your inspector about what
state requirements are being examined to make sure your inspection is valid.

Random audit inquiries will be made
about Item 5 (Bell) and Item 19 (State Requirements) because it has been found
that so many inspections have not applied the state-of-inspection requirements.

Carefully fill this out. This section might have some
"N/A" items (see the text that follows), but generally any "N/A" item will
trigger inquiry and consequently some delay in processing. All items are required in D1NR (e.g. the asterisk-marked
items are not optional).

Some items, such as a form of NavRules document, MUST
be aboard every operational facility (non-operational facilities are different,
covered only by Section VI above).

The "search pattern plotting guide" does not have to be
an elaborate tool like the plastic rotary guides (see
Search Pattern Guide). A photocopy of the relevant pages on how to plan some
of the basic patterns, taken from the Boat Crew Seamanship manual, will suffice
as a minimum.

Every operational facility is required to have a
"kicker" or skiff hook. This is a hook, mounted on a pole and with the
capability to temporarily attach your towing line, that allows crew to attach your towing
line to the eye bolt found on many boats. (The key attribute of the hook is that
it is held on the pole while performing the attachment, but will click on to the
eye bolt and detach itself from the pole in one operation.) While it is possible
to fabricate a working "kicker" hook yourself, the easiest solution is a
stainless steel mechanism, available from the AUXCEN online store (smaller
size, or
larger
size). There is no waiver for this item.

Items 28, 29, and 30 should be marked "N/A" if the
vessel is not owned by multiple owners, or owned by a corporation.

Item 31 "Additional items required by District
Commander" should be marked "OK", not
"N/A". The facility owner, at minimum, must understand that the
coxswain of record must bring aboard a PEPIRB [PEPIRBs are issued to coxswains,
not facilities].

This section allows the operational facility owner
to express their wishes about what coxswains are to be allowed to operate their
operational facility.

Unfortunately, the inspection form implies wide
description latitude, while the actual mechanism to issue patrol orders (and the
corresponding DIRAUX approval process) has a much more limited view. Please read
these instructions carefully for the choices you can actually make.

"When I am on board...". Your
choice here is ALL or NONE. The operating assumption is that if you are aboard,
you can terminate use of the facility (as the owner) if you do not approve of
the coxswain, so ALL is probably the normal choice.

"When I am not on board...". Your choice here is
only a specific list of coxswains, not a general "all" or "all in division" or
similar choice (in spite of the inspection form directions). The DIRAUX must be
able to approve a specific list for POMS, not a generic
description. One key point: anybody on this list should represent coxswains that
effectively have your boat keys, can request orders, and take your boat out
entirely without your direct knowledge. This is NOT the way to have other
coxswains request orders in POMS for your vessel while you intend to be
aboard or be the coxswain yourself. Everybody on your list must be a
currently certified coxswain; you should check this before you fill out the
inspection form (the Auxiliary eDirectory
is a good place to do this).

"I choose not to have anyone...".
Check this box if you do not wish to provide either of the previous two options.
Note that you must be a currently certified coxswain to be able to select this
box. If you are not a coxswain, either or both the previous options must have
been selected or your facility cannot be accepted.

The facility owners must initial
the bottom of Section VIII. If there are multiple owners,
ALL must place their initials here.

Only a paper, signed original of the inspection form can
be processed. Faxed or emailed forms do not provide original signatures,
needed to insure that the owner receives all available legal protection
after the DIRAUX accepts the facility. You are encouraged to use the
electronic version of the inspection form (this only allows specific entries
which greatly reduces errors): enter the data, print the nearly complete
form out, apply the
necessary signatures/initials, photocopy the form for your own records, and
send the original to the D1NR DIRAUX office.

[Follow local (flotilla or division) procedure if
your inspection form is provided to the D1NR
DIRAUX office via a staff officer.]

A copy of the processed inspection form will be
returned to the facility owner (or first listed facility owner, if there are
multiple owners). POMS will have all the facility
information 24 hours after AUXDATA entry is complete.

Random audits are performed (where thought necessary) to make sure that
inspections were actually performed of the physical vessel (e.g. that the
inspection was not "table top"). At any point in the operational season, it
should be possible for somebody (VE staff, elected leaders, USCG personnel)
to inspect the vessel and come up with exactly the same results as the
seasonal inspection. QEs might ask for some particular piece of equipment or
required onboard items and expect to be shown the equipment or item.

Many vessels are formally owned by multiple owners,
usually husband and wife or other pair of related people. Often, only one spouse
or person is a member of the USCG Auxiliary.

When such a vessel is offered for use as a facility, ALL owners must signal
approval of the offer-for-use. When both owners are members of the Auxiliary, the
inspection form ANSC 7003 has provision for two Auxiliary member signatures.
When one owner is a member and the rest are non-members, Appendix B of the
Auxiliary Operations Policy
Manual ("Multiple Owners") has a sample form to be signed by all owners.

For your convenience, an Adobe Acrobat fill-in version of that sample form is
available here (thank you to Jim Katz
for triggering this).

Because this form requires written signatures, fill out the form
(non-signature items), print it, have all parties sign it, and submit an
original with the facility inspection paperwork (e.g. the form cannot be
submitted electronically.)

Some Auxiliarists have their vessel owned by a corporation. When such a
vessel is offered for use as a facility, the corporation must vote and pass a
specific resolution authorizing the offer for use. This must be done annually to
be submitted with the ANSC 7003
offer for use.

Sometimes there are Auxiliary members that reside within D1NR only during the
operational season, but are members of districts other than D1NR....and they own
a vessel here that they wish to offer for D1NR usage.

(First, in order for those out-of-district members to participate in D1NR
operations, see the
Policy page here for boat crew certification information)

There can be many issues with such vessels: are they trailered here and used
elsewhere too, or is the vessel permanently located in D1NR? Does the vessel
meet state registration requirements if permanently located here (and also state
registered rather than documented)? There are more questions, as well.

It is beyond the scope of this site to describe all the issues here and
corresponding inspection processes. Contact the webmaster to be connected to
specific DIRAUX staff that can go over your particular situation.

Use of radios on surface facilities is governed by the
same policies that drive radio facilities. Surface facility owners are urged to
read Annex 4 of the
Auxiliary Operations Policy
Manual.

In particular, if your facility has a non-marine band
radio on board, you should note that as of January 1, 2008 that VHF non-marine
radios must meet federal narrowband technical requirements. There is a new list
of authorized frequencies. Old radios/previous frequencies are not authorized
and may not be used.

[Basically, if you had a radio that used the old
143.28MHz frequency, you may no longer use that radio as of January 1, 2008 for any federal use (and
the 143.28MHz frequency is no longer available, either).]

All radios aboard a surface
facility are described on the surface facility
ANSC 7003 form. A
separate radio facility ANSC 7004
form is not to be used.